Friday, November 8, 2013

Exploring STEM by Ginny Marino, CEO

One of the main reasons that I am so passionate about Girl
Scouting is because it exposes girls to new ideas, encourages them to take
risks, actively problem-solve and use their imaginations and creative
skills. We want each of our girls to be
confident and courageous and pursue their dreams.

This also includes their career dreams – work that they
would find fulfilling and meaningful. Many of the girls I have met in our Council
are focusing on careers in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) ~
not so surprising really, as through the Girl Scout experience girls have an
opportunity to be exposed to these areas both formally, and informally. My granddaughter Emma is in the third grade,
and she loves math. I remember that at that
age, I loved math too. I also remember
switching from the more challenging math courses in high school to a lower
level because there were few girls in the class, and I didn't want the boys to
think I was smarter than they were.

My thinking seems silly now, however we know that girls
today have similar concerns. Women are
still woefully under-represented in STEM fields – both at the professional senior
level, and at all levels in the academic pipeline. Study after study shows that girls lose
interest in math and science in middle school and shy away from any academic
work that would make them seem “different” from their peers. The lack of accomplished women as role models
only compounds the challenge and further divides girls from the success of boys
in these fields.

“Generation STEM”, a research report from the Girl Scout
Research Institute published last year, uncovered two important points as we
look at this issue and discuss what we need to do to change the statistics.

Although the stereotype that girls shy away from math and
science because they are “boy things” persists, 74% of teenage girls report
interest in STEM academic subjects and career fields. In other words, just as many girls as boys do
have interest in STEM careers. This
statistic might surprise you, because what most of us see – the numbers of
girls who actually enroll in college programs in STEM fields, which is much
lower. While nearly ¾ of girls have
interest, only 13% take action and pursue STEM careers.

Why does it matter? First,
it’s all about the numbers when we look at the sheer fact that growth in STEM
occupations has outpaced that of other occupations at a rate of 3 to 1. The specialized expertise required for STEM
careers is at a premium in our country, and as a result, analysts project that
we will not have enough qualified job candidates in the US to meet future
employment demand. Girls must be poised
to take advantage of these jobs, with equal economic opportunity to be
successful doctors, scientists and engineers.
Researchers and experts in STEM education also agree that boosting the
number of women in STEM fields could potentially help us solve problems that
have been overlooked in the past. There
could be a girl out there who will find a cure for Alzheimer’s; invent the next
I-Pod; or design the next alternative energy source. We are underutilizing human capital. And second, I don’t need to tell you that STEM offers some
of the best paid occupations in our economy, and that our girls deserve to be
paid well so that they can build independent, financially-stable futures.

Whether a troop leader, staff member or other volunteer –
all the adults in our council can make a difference. Let’s continue to encourage our girls to be
smart, bold and empowered to pursue the academic courses that interest
them. Let’s ensure that they feel
confident about their skills in math, science and technology – and don’t
dismiss them because others might question them. Let’s all lend our voices with Girl Scouts of
the USA to ensure that girls have what they need in order to succeed in STEM
careers. We can support the girls in our
lives to stick with math and science if they love it – and pursue the jobs of
the future.

1 comment:

This is my daughter's second year in girl scouts and I am also a member of girl scouts to support the troop for events. I started a program called Math is Fun by Kit, which is a great to promote STEM for girls. How can I go about offering some trail classes for girl scouts? I am in the processing of updating my website, but you can find more information for this program from this website as well http://hand-in-handtutoring.com/programs.php